Hanso Memorial Middle School
by Benjamin Linus
Summary: Join the adolescent Losties as they journey through middle school. Football games, cheerleading, dating and more! Now with Skate, as well as JulietBen, ClaireCharlie and DesmondPenny!
1. Chapter 1

There are fics about the Losties at almost every age. Middle school? Nada. Enjoy. Hanso Middle School is only grades 7 and 8. I don't own Lost, in case you thought I was J.J. Abrams having nothing better to do. Wouldn't it be cool if J.J. wrote fanfiction and posted it here?

Room 154 (7th grade)

On the first day of middle school, Desmond rushed to stuff his things in his locker. He couldn't wait to find out who was in his class this year. It was his first day at Hanso Memorial Middle School. Over the summer he had been sent his class assignment and locker number. He still didn't know who the teacher for room 154 was.

Claire ran over to meet with Sun as soon as she saw her. Like always, Claire was a chatterbox.

"What room do you have Sun? I have room 154. I can't wait!" She chattered.

"That's great! I have 154 too!" Sun was delighted. She was secretly hoping Jin would be in her class.

They walked over to their lockers, which were conveniently next to each other. Desmond couldn't help overhearing Claire and Sun, and was frankly quite happy Claire was in his class. He knew Claire and Sun from Candle Elementary School. Claire had always been nice to him.

Charlie couldn't wait to start middle school. He was excited about the school band the most. Girls were among other exciting parts of middle school life. Liam, who was in eighth grade this year, had told him all about middle school. Charlie eyed Claire as he walked to his locker. He couldn't stop staring at her shiny blonde hair. He accidentally walked into a large boy wearing a Mr. Cluck's Chicken Shack's sponsored golf tournament t-shirt.

"Sorry mate," Charlie apologized to the larger boy.

"It's o.k. dude. I'm Hurley. What room do you have?" He asked.

"Uh…. 154. You too?" Hurley nodded.

Jin walked over to his locker, which was on the other side of Sun's. Sun turned around and was surprised to see Jin.

"Jin! Do you have 154 too?" She asked.

"Yes. Who is the teacher?" He asked. He had a difficult time forming words when he was around Sun.

"We don't know yet," said Claire.

"Hurley," A tan boy with black hair was walking towards him.

"Sayid! Do you have homeroom 154 too?" He asked.

"Indeed," Sayid answered.

Meanwhile, outside room 238 (8th grade)

Sawyer walked to his locker with Kate. They were in the same class. They had never dated, but Sawyer was determined to ask her out and not be rejected this year, as opposed to last year, when Jack had beaten him to the punch. Jack and Kate had an on-again-off again relationship.

"So Freckles, are you still dating Doogie Howser?"

"If you mean Jack yeah, what's it to you?" She replied.

Sawyer turned to his locker and stuffed his stuff in angrily and walked into the classroom. Jack walked up to Kate.

"Hey. What were you talking to Sawyer about?" Jack didn't like Sawyer's interest in Kate.

"He wanted to know if we were dating. Don't worry, I said yes." Jack smiled, but couldn't help but look at who was just arriving.

Juliet and Ben walked over to their lockers. They were neighbors, and had walked to school together everyday since last year. Juliet took her binders out of her pink backpack just as Ben took his notebooks out of his beige messenger bag. Juliet was regarded as a calm, logical girl. Ben was, well… kind of weird. Other kids thought he was creepy.

Ben and Juliet walked into the classroom where Sawyer was already sitting in the back row.

There wasn't a teacher in the room, so Ben and Juliet sat down next to each other in the first row. Jack and Kate walked and sat in the middle row. John Locke walked in and sat in the front row. Other kids streamed in. Colleen and Danny walked in holding hands. Colleen looked at Juliet and Ben sitting together. She gave Juliet a funny look. Juliet was sick of Colleen bugging her about her relationship with Ben. They were just friends.

Tom walked in and sat in the back, a few seats away from Sawyer. Sawyer rolled his eyes. Tom loved bugging Sawyer. Tom liked bugging everyone actually, but Sawyer was his favorite target.

Alex and Karl walked in together and sat next to each other in the middle row.

Ethan Rom and his friend Goodwin entered next. Ethan winked at Juliet. Ben gave him a piercing bulgy blue eyed stare. Ethan shrunk back and sat in the back row.

Just then, the teacher walked in.

"My name is Mr.Arzt," He introduced himself. He wrote his name on the board.

Liam Pace sniggered at his teacher's name.

Coming up next: Who will the seventh grade teacher be? Will Sawyer asked Kate out? Will Mr.Arzt blow up? And less importantly, will these kids actually learn anything? Find out in chapter 2!


	2. Schedules

Thanks for the reviews! They make me feel warm and fuzzy. To clear things up, 7th grade is 12/13 year olds, and 8th grade is 13/14 year olds. Sorry it's taken so long to update. I let Rose keep her maiden name. If you can't remember which character's last name was Jackson, it was Scott. Review pretty pretty please with strawberries and fish biscuits on top!

While Liam Pace laughed at his teacher's name, Charlie Pace wrote his name inside all of the books Mrs. Henderson handed out. It was funny how his dentist's wife was his teacher.

Sayid stared at the girl in front of him. He was sure she was the girl who had pushed him in the mud before school. Her name was Nadia, he remembered from attendance this morning.

Hurley was daydreaming about lunch. He hoped they would serve chicken tenders, or chicken patties, or popcorn chicken, or some form of chicken for lunch. He loved chicken, and he loved that about himself.

Desmond was staring at Claire. Claire was currently fingering her hair. She saw him staring, and smiled at him. Desmond managed to smile back through his amazement at being smiled at.

Mr. Arzt's class

Mr. Arzt was now passing out class schedules.

Colleen was comparing hers with Danny's. It was exactly the same. She squealed in delight.

Jack and Kate however, were not faring so well.

"We've got homeroom together. And the whole homeroom has gym at the same time. And we'll see each other at lunch," Kate promised Jack. Kate knew that Jack liked being with Kate all throughout the day so he could make sure the other guys couldn't hit on her. Kate was fairly popular.

When Alex and Karl compared schedules, they found they had science and math together. Science was their favorite subject. Alex smiled at Karl. Karl found her smile irresistible.

Ben and Juliet had everything except foreign language together, since Juliet took Spanish and Ben chose French.

The bell signaling the end of homeroom and the beginning of first period rang.

Ben checked his schedule to see what he had first.

"Physical Education," He realized dismayed. What was so educational about the bigger students hurling dodgeballs at the smaller ones? Just what I need first thing in the morning, he thought to himself sarcastically.

Danny's favorite subject was gym. What wasn't to like about it? He could spend a full period throwing heavy rubber balls at Sawyer without getting in trouble.

The class walked into the gym. Since it was the first day, no one had known whether they had gym or not, so no one had brought gym clothes. The gym teacher, Mr. Jackson, just droned on and on about locker room responsibilities, aimed at the guys.

Ben was so bored, he'd rather have been being pummeled by dodgeballs than listen to the lecture. There really was no point. There would still be locker room skirmishes. Juliet smiled a sarcastic smile and rolled her eyes in Mr. Jackson's direction. Sitting in the bleachers for an hour listening to a pointless lecture wasn't that bad when you were sitting next to Juliet.

An hour later the lecture was over. Jack had science, so he said goodbye to Kate and walked to Mr. Arzt's room for science class.

Once everybody was settled down, Jack looked around. Jack scoped out his competition. He was normally the best in his class in science. Who hadn't been in his science class last year? Alex, Karl, Juliet, that blonde girl whose name he didn't know who had shoved him on the way to class, and, oh crap, Jack thought. Ben. He gave off the air of an evil genius. He was probably a science whiz.

The next five minutes were spent breaking the class into groups. In Jack's group were John, Sawyer, and the blonde girl who had shoved him, whose name he found out, was Isobel. Jack had problems with Sawyer last year. At least Sawyer wasn't in Kate's science class, where he could be hitting on Kate without Jack's knowing.

Juliet was content with her group. Ben sat next to her, with Karl and Alex on the other side.

For twenty minutes Mr. Arzt droned on and on about class expectations, and the agenda for the year.

"This first unit we will study the solar system. Second we shall learn about the human body, and we'll see about where we are then and…"

"Mr. Arnst, can I go to the bathroom?" Liam Pace asked, showing that he clearly just wanted to leave the classroom.

"Mr. Arzt," He corrected, looking agitated. "Fine, you can go."

After lecture after lecture about class expectations from teachers for half the day, lunch finally rolled around.

Most of the discussions the seventh graders were having revolved around the new school, as opposed to the eighth graders, who only wanted to talk about who was dating who.

"Isn't the French teacher crazy?" Claire asked to her lunch companions.

"Bloody insane," said Charlie.

"You don't take French Charlie," Claire told him with a smile. Charlie grinned. He's kinda cute, Claire thought to herself.

Hurley was fully immersed in his lunch. The food tastes better here than it did in elementary school, he noticed.

Desmond sat next to Penny. When did she get this beautiful, he asked himself? He hadn't seen her all summer. The moment he had first seen her today in French, he forgot about his Claire watching obsession.

Jin and Sun sat next to each other. Sun had to thank Claire later for recommending Jin the seat next to the one Sun was sitting in.

Sayid was busying himself with wiping ketchup off his pants. That Nadia girl had "accidentally" poured it on him.

"What I can't understand," Sayid said, reaching for a new napkin, "Is why she bullies me. I haven't done anything to her." He paused. "I think."

"Dude, she likes you," Hurley said, his mouth full.

Sayid spent the rest of lunch pondering this.

Coming up next: Arzt hasn't blown up yet, but will he? What have the eighth graders been talking about? Are you on the list? Oops, wrong show.


	3. Lunch Time

Thanks for the reviews! For once, I can't think of anything else to say. As always, sorry it took so long to update. I've been spending all that time trying to get ownership rights to Lost, but I still don't have them. Dang! Sorry it's short, I'll try to update later this weekend.

"Do you think Ben will finally ask Juliet out this year? Jack? Jaaack?" Jack looked at Kate.

"What?" He asked.

"You're so out of it. I asked you if you thought Ben will ask out Juliet." She answered him.

"I dunno," Jack said before taking a bite of his sandwich.

"What do you want to do after school?" Kate asked.

"I don't really feel like doing much today," Jack replied.

Kate rolled her eyes. Jack never felt like doing anything.

"Got a girlfriend Charles?" Liam exaggerated the Charles.

"She's my friend Liam," Charlie replied, annoyed. "Bug off Liam. Your ugly face is ruining our lunch," Claire giggled as Charlie said this. Whatever he said could make her giggle.

Jack was staring off into space. Kate went to go get a napkin. She walked past Sawyer, whose head was obscured by a copy of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. She could tell he was deeply immersed in it.

"You're reading Sci-Fi?" She asked in disbelief. Sawyer always played the careless, un-geeky act.

"You wanna read over my shoulder, Sweetcakes?"

Kate rolled her eyes and went on with her business.

Danny was biting into his chicken nuggets aggressively, pretending each one was Sawyer's head.

"That one looks like a bunny," Alex said.

"No, it looks like a boat," Karl replied.

"Bunny."

"Boat."

"Fine, what about the mashed potatoes and mysterious orange goo?" Alex asked, pointing to another cafeteria food shape on the ceiling.

"So can I be vice president?" Juliet asked.

"Who else?" Ben answered her of their plans to run for student council. Positions of great power were welcomed by Ben.

Juliet smiled. She stopped when she saw Colleen staring at the two of them. Colleen sneered. Juliet sneered back and nodded her head towards Danny, who was aggressively stuffing his mouth. So what if she and Ben liked each other? At least Juliet's boyfriend wasn't violent like Danny.

Boyfriend. She was calling him her boyfriend. They weren't going out they were just friends. Maybe she had to be more assertive. She turned to Ben and gave him her cute look.

"What?" He asked her.

"Nothing," she replied, trying not to sound let down.


	4. After School

Thanks to my loyal reviewers. As always, I don't own Lost. I do, however, own a vicious attack hamster, so review for your safety.

The first day of school, Wednesday, eventually came to a close. Kate got on the bus.

When Kate walked on the bus, it was full. Her eyes scanned for empty seats, and she found only one. She plunked herself down. The occupant of the seat next to her gave her a dimply smile.

"Well well. To whom do I owe the pleasure of Kissin' Kate sittin' next to me?" Sawyer grinned again. Kate tried to sigh, but found herself smiling instead for some strange reason.

The bus hit a bump, causing Sawyer to drop his book. He reached down to get it, and found his lips touching something soft, with a fruity taste. It took him a moment to realize his lips had brushed Kate's, who had also reached for his book.

Kate sat up and gave Sawyer a horrified stare.

After a minute of frightening silence, Kate awkwardly handed Sawyer his book.

"Jack can't know."

"Deal."

Ten minutes later, as Kate was about to get off at her stop, Sawyer stopped her.

"You tasted like strawberries."

Kate smiled. "You tasted like tuna fish." She exited the bus.

Sawyer turned to the window and smiled. She was his kind of girl.

Desmond watched from the bike racks as a black limo pulled up to the school. Penny waved to Desmond as she got in it. Desmond smiled and waved back.

Charlie and Claire walked happily next to each other. Well, as happily as they could with Liam shouting, "Charlie's got a girlfriend" every couple of minutes.

"You, uh, wanna come over today?" Charlie asked Claire. "I got a new bass over the summer; I'll show you what I can play."

"I'd love to Charlie."

Charlie gave her a lopsided grin. Liam made gagging noises in the background.

Ben and Juliet were walking home together.

"Do you want to sign up for drama club this year again?" Ben asked Juliet.

"Definitely," Juliet answered.

They talked a lot on their walks to and from school. They biked to and from school when they didn't have much to say.

Ben took a big breath. "Juliet, I was wondering if…" the rest was lost due to the noise of Alex and Karl racing by on bikes. Karl accidentally knocked Ben's wire-rimmed glasses off. Juliet picked them up and handed them back to Ben. Ben wiped them off on the sleeve of his shirt.

"What did you say?" Juliet asked.

"I was wondering if you wanted to be my girlfriend."

Juliet hugged Ben.

Colleen watched the whole thing from a distance.

"This is going to make for great gossip at school tomorrow, Danny. Danny?" Danny was kicking rocks, not realizing that kicking rocks made his toe hurt.

"Ow," he kicked a rocked. "Ow," he did it again.

Colleen growled.

"That was great!" Claire exclaimed. "You should start a band!" They were at Charlie's house, and Charlie was playing his bass guitar.

"Band… band… Claire, you're a genius! I should definitely start a band. But with who? We'd need at least a drummer and guitarist, not to mention someone who could sing."

Claire smiled. Her boyfriend was going to be a rockstar! And he had called her a genius!

Coming up next chapter: Will Ben and Juliet go public with their relationship? Will Jack find out about Kate and Sawyer? Will Charlie start a band? Can anyone besides Charlie play an instrument? Find out next time.


	5. The Break Up

I still don't own Lost. Football in this chapter is American football. I'll give you fish ice cream if you review. I'll give you fish ice cream if you don't review. Depends on your view point.

Charlie and Claire spent the rest of the afternoon thinking of the prospect of a band. Liam actually came in handy part of the time.

"Liam, do you know anyone in the eighth grade who plays an instrument?" Charlie asked. No one he knew of in the seventh grade played anything.

"That Ben Linus kid plays piano I think," He answered. Liam then went back to spitball target practice.

"We'll ask him if he can help us out tomorrow," Charlie told Claire. "It's going to be tough finding a drummer and a guitarist though."

Ben and Juliet spent the afternoon at the library. It was one of their favorite spots. Today, Juliet had a mission.

"Read it," she insisted, waving the book in his face.

"No way," he refused.

"Would you ever read it?" Juliet asked him.

"Only if I were tied up in tiny windowless room with nothing else to do," He answered.

Juliet sighed and put the copy of _Carrie _down.

Goodwin, Danny and Tom were still practicing kicking and throwing footballs even though they were all shoo-ins for the football team. Try-outs would be held Friday, two days from then.

Colleen cheered "Go Danny" from the bleacher son the school field as Danny kicked another field goal. Colleen was a little over-enthusiastic.

"Take that Sawyer," he murmured to the football.

The next morning in homeroom, Charlie filled Hurley in on his magnificent plan.

"If we can, we'll get this Ben kid to play piano for singing auditions. If he's pretty good, I'll ask him to join the band."

"Join the band…?" Hurley repeated.

"Okay, join me so far. Who am I going to get to play drums and guitar?" Charlie asked Hurley.

"No idea," Hurley went back to day-dreaming about candy bars.

"Want to hang out today Jack?" Kate asked the next morning in homeroom.

"Not really," Jack replied.

Kate was ready to do this. "Jack… I want to break up."

This got Jack's attention.

"What?" He asked.

"I want to break up." Kate repeated. She hoped she wouldn't regret this.

"What?" Jack said once again.

"Exactly. You don't pay any attention to me. You never want to do anything. What am I to you? A possession? I want to break up."

The bell rang. Kate left for English.

Jack sat there, defeated. Kate had left him, she didn't want him. He was rejected.

"Jack! JACK!" Jack looked up and saw an explosive looking Mr. Arzt yelling at him.

"Unless you have science next, get out of the room," Mr. Arzt screamed his face red.

As Jack didn't have science, he scurried off to math, alone and heartbroken.

For Jack, it took forever for lunch to arrive. For others, it came quickly. Everyone had learned from Colleen in the hallways before homeroom that Ben and Juliet were now officially dating, so the two of them were free to be cute and flirty with each other.

Juliet was giving Ben some pudding off her spoon when Charlie walked up.

"Uhh, are you Ben Linus?" Charlie asked nervously.

"Yes," He answered. "Why?"

"I'm Charlie Pace, Liam's brother, and I was wondering if you could help me out with something. You play piano, right?" Ben nodded. "Well, I'm trying to find a lead singer, see I'm starting a band, and I was wondering if you might play piano for the auditions. I guess I could use a pianist in the band too." Charlie finished, and waited for Ben's response.

"Who's in your band so far?" Juliet asked.

"Just me," Charlie said, embarrassed. "I play bass guitar," He added.

"Alright, I don't see why not. Just tell me when and what songs the auditioners are going to sing," Ben told Charlie.

"Brilliant!" Charlie exclaimed. "I'll tell you when it's gonna be. Probably next week, or the week after that," Charlie talked quickly through his excitement. "Bye!" Charlie walked back to his table.

Juliet looked at Ben. He shrugged, and they went back to their pudding.

Charlie sat down next to Claire. "He said yes," He informed her.

"Charlie, that's great!" Claire said joyously.

"An occasion like this calls for… peanut butter!" Charlie pulled out a small bag of sandwich crackers with peanut butter in the middle. "We'll have to take the cracker parts off, but that's the fun part," He told her.

Claire was surprised that Charlie remembered she liked peanut butter. She had thought he had never paid much attention to her, but she was wrong as could be.

Kate sat down next to Sawyer. Sawyer already heard the news, but he had to hear it again.

"You dumped McDreamy?" He asked her.

"Yes, and since when do you watch Grey's Anatomy?" Kate smiled.

Sawyer showed off his trademark dimples. "Wanna get some ice cream after school?" He asked her. "Goes out of season soon."

"Sure. As long as you don't ask for fish in yours," She said.

"I don't have a fish obsession!" Sawyer exclaimed.

"What are you having for lunch?" Kate pointed at his lunch tray. A packet of Goldfish and several fish sticks were visible.

Sawyer rolled his eyes.

"You're probably going to get strawberry, Shortcake."

"Correction: You're getting it because you're buying."

"Of course, Freckles."


	6. Ice Cream

No, I'm not dead. Thanks for the reviews! I still don't own Lost. If I did, Ben would have been in Tricia Tanaka is dead and Enter 77. He better be in Par Avion. Or else. I think he will be. Remember, I own a vicious attack hamster. The Charlie/Claire boyfriend/girlfriend thing just kind of formed. Just to straighten things out, the cheerleading team stays the same (except for additions) while you have to try out to make the football team.

At the end of the school day, Sawyer met Kate at her locker. Jack watched Sawyer make Kate giggle. Jack slammed his locker shut. Kate looked over. Then she and Sawyer went back to their laughing.

Kate didn't feel bad about dumping Jack at all. Why should she? She was like a dog to him. Jack had a dog, didn't he? He used to. It got hit by a car a month after he got it. Kate shivered at the thought of comparing herself to his dog.

She and Sawyer walked to Baskin Robbins, a couple blocks away. They laughed and gossiped. Kate was kind of new to this, as Jack was never someone for giggling and goofing.

At Baskin Robbins, Kate got a table and Sawyer went to get ice cream. He came back to the table with a huge bowl of strawberry ice cream. Kate gasped. It was enormous! She had never seen anyone get that much ice cream.

"What, never seen ice cream before, sugar cheeks?" Sawyer smiled, pleased with being able to awe her.

"No, just not that much. I can't eat all that," Kate told him.

"What, you skip that day in preschool? Ever heard of sharing?" Sawyer replied.

Kate had no objections to sharing. Sawyer sat down and opened a packet of Swedish Fish and poured them on the ice cream. Kate smiled and laughed.

"Fish ice cream," Kate exclaimed. She rolled her eyes.

Charlie and Claire sat at another Baskin Robbins table. Claire had ended up buying, as Charlie didn't have anything on him.

"I'll pay you back first thing tomorrow, I promise," Charlie said in between bites of chocolate ice cream.

"Charlie, honestly, you don't have to pay me back. It was my treat," Claire replied, her mouth full of peanut butter swirl. "Can I have a taste of yours?"

"As long as I can have a taste of yours," He said, smiling. They laughed and exchanged ice creams. Charlie looked at Claire's.

"You left your spoon," He informed her.

"Of course I did," She told him. "Give me yours."

Charlie handed her his spoon.

"I can't eat another bite," Kate told Sawyer.

Only about half the ice cream was gone, but Sawyer was still gobbling it down. "More for me then," Sawyer said, half a Swedish Fish falling out of his mouth.

"Can I request something?" Juliet asked Ben. The two of them had decided to hang out in the music room after school so Ben could play piano. Ben had just finished some complex classical piece that Juliet didn't know the name of.

"Anything," Ben told her.

"Linus and Lucy."

Ben rolled his eyes and started the piece. Juliet started dancing Ben loved watching her dance. She moved so gracefully, so elegantly. Ben wanted to dance with her.

"V-I-C-T-O-R-Y, that's what makes our opponents cry," The voices of the cheerleading squad cheered.

"Perfect," Colleen cried. Colleen was the captain of the cheerleading squad. The only members of the cheerleading squad so far were the eighth graders, as try-outs hadn't been held yet. They were going to be the next day, so guys would try out for football, and girls would try out for cheerleading. They were practicing on the field, so Colleen could watch Danny practice for the next day's try-outs.

Juliet was now sitting close to Ben on the piano bench. Very close, Ben observed. Ben started playing a difficult looking pattern. His fingers were still moving, but he moved closer to her. The music stopped once his lips touched hers. Practice was over. Ben and Juliet were having their first make-out session.

And everyone thinks he's a nerd, Juliet thought. He kisses better than anyone else.

They made out for what felt like only a few seconds, but what was really ten minutes.

Colleen spotted them walking out of the building. She squinted. They were holding hands, she noticed. Her head was leaned on her shoulder. Was that Chap Stick Ben had on his cheek? Since when did guys wear Chap Stick? Colleen smiled evilly. They had been kissing! Oh, she couldn't wait to share this information.

"I can't believe you ate all that," Kate said to Sawyer in disbelief as they threw out their garbage.

"I shouldn't get so much next time. You ate so much, and I don't want a fat girlfriend," Sawyer luckily realized what he had said in time to give her a kiss before she could respond. Luckily, she didn't take it badly. In fact, she kissed him back. Not too bad, he thought to himself. She didn't deny there would be a next time.

"You should try out for cheerleading tomorrow," Ben told Juliet as they walked home.

"Only if you try out for football," Juliet responded with a friendly smirk.

Ben rolled his eyes.

The little purple button provides attack hamster security. Next chapter: try-outs. Who will try out for cheerleading? For football?


	7. Tryouts

Thank you to my loyal reviewers. If I owned Lost, we'd have more Ben. Loads more. So, obviously I don't own Lost. I was upset over Ben not being on Par Avion. The preview at the end made up for it though. Ben in pajamas! Squee! And nice stripey ones to match his shirts! Thanks to xox-emily-xox for the idea to have Kate become a cheerleader.

School went by quickly the next day. Everyone was hyped for try outs. Girls were practicing cheers during lunch; guys were throwing and kicking everything they could find. It wasn't much different than any day for Danny.

Cheerleading try outs started fifteen minutes before football. Guys sat in the bleachers watching the girls.

Kate had never been a big fan of cheerleading before, but since Sawyer was going out for football, she figured she might as well become one.

Penny, Sun, Claire, and Kate were all trying out. Kate went first. She did okay at memorizing the cheer, but did all the moves perfectly, due to her being in perfect athletic shape. Since it wouldn't be announced who made the ream until Monday, Kate went to go support Sawyer in his try-outs.

The guys were partnering up to do passing warm-ups. Jack was partnered with Tom, Goodwin was with Desmond, Locke (Who amazed everyone by trying out) was with Sayid, and Sawyer was partner less. Then he spotted Danny, who didn't have anyone. Coach Jackson blew his whistle, so Sawyer hurried over to Danny.

"Guess we're stuck together."

Danny grunted.

They started passing. Danny aimed his passes at Sawyer's head. Sawyer snagged every one perfectly. Kate cheered from the bleachers.

Tom and Jack were having fun. Jack almost even forgot about Kate, until he saw her cheering for Sawyer. Tom saw this, and suggested they move away from the bleachers. That they did.

Penny's try-out went well, and so did Sun's. But Claire's… her's was disastrous. First she accidentally punched Charlie, who was watching her from the bleachers, which weren't supposed to be near the try-out zone, but Claire somehow found her way there. Since she didn't know the cheer (She had been busy giggling with Charlie at the time of the demonstration), she just threw words together, resulting in gibberish.

Charlie palmed his face.

"No, no, no!" Colleen screamed. "That's not how it goes!"

Claire went back and sat in the bleachers. A tear came out, followed by another, and before Charlie knew it, Claire was a giant tear cloud… or something.

Charlie just held her close.

"Want to leave?" He asked her. She obviously didn't need to stay, since it was obvious she didn't make the team.

Claire nodded, and they left holding hands.

Football try outs were going well. The participants had more talent then any other past team. Coach Jackson scanned the field. The boys were having a water break. Tom was big, and had been on the team last year, Jack was muscular, Sayid could catch and run, and wasn't a bad tackler he had proven when Sawyer had insulted him, (Sawyer was currently inside getting an ice pack), Sawyer had done quite well before Sayid tackled him, Danny had been on the team last year, one of the three seventh graders on it, and was a star player. Desmond showed promise, for only a seventh grader. Goodwin had been the final seventh grader on it, and was a good quarterback, since he had grown over the summer he'd be a fine tackler, Coach Jackson was willing to bet. As for John Locke, they needed a back up player, and he'd do.

Coach Jackson started try-outs up again once Sawyer came back with an ice pack.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Kate asked him. She had gone in to get the ice pack with Sawyer.

"Fine, mom." Sawyer stressed the "mom".

Coming up next: What have Ben, Juliet, Alex and Karl been up to the whole time? Who will make the teams?


	8. Tryout Results

I don't own Lost. Quick question: I f I were to do a slight crossover in this story with another TV show, what show should I use? Choices are: The Office or Heroes (All characters would be in kid-form). Green Day owns Good Riddance (Time of your Life).

Alex and Karl were currently in the arcade at the mall. Alex had used about fifty of Karl's quarters on a first person shooter.

"This would be so much better if there was a slingshot in it," Alex remarked. Karl nodded in agreement.

Juliet was looking at giant TV screens in Best Buy (Also at the mall). Ben was over in the CD section.

"Want to get some soft pretzels?" Juliet asked him.

"Sure," He replied.

Fifteen minutes later Juliet was eating pretzels like crazy, and Ben was sipping a frappachino. Juliet looked over at him and giggled.

"What?" He asked her.

"You've got…wait a moment," She bent over the food court table to lick the foam off his lips. "That's better," She told him.

Ben blushed.

Try-outs were officially over. Kate and Sawyer walked home, his arm around her, Kate marveling at how well Sawyer had done. Sawyer glanced over at Jack who was walking home with Tom. He restrained himself from sticking his tongue out, but it was difficult.

Charlie and Claire were at Charlie's house. Claire had recovered well from her "interesting" try-out. After peanut butter sandwiches and music courtesy of Charlie, she was much happier.

"Charlie," She said, "Will you sing? It would cheer me up a lot," Claire pouted after she said this.

"Alright," He said. He went to his closet and opened it. He pulled out his old acoustic guitar. He sat down and began to play. He sang.

_Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road_

_Time grabs you by the wrists, directs you where to go_

_So make the best of this test, and don't ask why_

_It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time_

_It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right_

_I hope you had the time of your life_

_So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind_

_Hang it on a shelf of good health and good time_

_Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial_

_For what it's worth, it was worth all the while_

_I hope you had the time of your life_

Charlie put the guitar down.

"It was great Charlie! Why don't you play guitar more often? Why always bass?" Claire asked.

"If you like acoustic guitar, I guess I'll play it more."

Claire leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

"The singing was cute too," She reassured him.

Monday rolled around after a weekend of suspense. In Mr. Arzt's homeroom, everyone was on edge to find out who made the teams. Well, almost everyone. Alex and Karl goofed around, Ben was reading and Juliet twirled her hair around her finger and watched Ben read.

After a day of school, during which Tom and Jack appeared to be becoming friends, Sawyer shoved a black-haired seventh grade boy who was staring at Kate, Danny shoved Sawyer for no reason, Colleen gossiped, and Ben didn't fare too well in P.E, Mr. Arzt finally gave an announcement about who made the teams in afternoon homeroom.

"Drama Club auditions will be held on Thursday in room 168," He said. Ben and Juliet took note of this. "And finally, this year's football and cheerleading rosters will be posted in the lobby after school."

The bell rang as soon as Mr. Arzt finished. Pretty much everyone stampeded out of the room, eager to see the rosters.

Mrs. Henderson had been smart, and had gotten the list of who made which team earlier, in fear that her seventh graders would be run over by the eighth graders in the chaos. If her students got run over by the heard of eighth graders, they wouldn't be able to take the next day's math quiz.

"Okay… on the cheerleading squad we have Sun, Penelope, and Nikki," Mrs. Henderson said. Sun smiled at Jin, who smiled back, suddenly wishing that he had tried out for the football team. Penelope giggled as Desmond congratulated her. Paulo congratulated Nikki, while hoping he had made the football team. Claire took the news well. Charlie squeezed her hand under the desks to comfort her.

"The boys who made the football team are Desmond and Sayid," Mrs. Henderson told the class. Penny hugged Desmond in excitement. Thankfully, the bell rang, which diverted everyone's attention.

Paulo kicked his locker as he gathered his belongings from it. Why didn't he make the football team?

The eighth graders crowded around the list. Sawyer and Kate both spotted their names, causing Kate to jump up and down excitedly. Sawyer gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Jack," Tom said to get his attention. "We both made the team." He saw Jack staring at Kate and Sawyer. "Aw, you're still obsessing about her?"

"No," Jack said quickly in defense. Tom rolled his eyes.

Danny made the team, and Colleen doted over him. Goodwin saw his name, and high-fived Ethan who had come along with him. Locke was surprised to see that he had made the team.

Coming up in the next fun-packed chapter: Drama club, football practice, i-Pods and more! Paulo gets a punch in the stomach and Nikki breaks a nail every time the little purple button gets pushed.


	9. The Game

Okay, who thinks Ben gets the best lines? The code for daughter with a man holding a gun to her in my closet cracked me up; I was rolling on the floor when he delivered the hamster line. I still don't own Lost. I'm just going to glaze over drama club in this chapter cause I know we all want to get to the game.

Tuesday afternoon was the first official football practice of the season. The first game was going to be held on Saturday.

The practice went well. The main goal of the practice was to decide who would play which position. By the end of the hour and a half, Sawyer was declared quarterback. The next time Danny saw a quarter, he threw it against a wall.

"Who are we gonna play Saturday, Coach?" Sawyer asked at the end of practice.

"Dunder-Mifflin Middle," He announced. Those who had been on the team last year laughed. Dunder-Mifflin Middle had a reputation for stinking at all sports. It was Linderman Junior High that was tough to beat.

Wednesday morning Sawyer told Kate about practice. He had known Kate would be excited to hear about it, so he hadn't called her because he had wanted to see the look on her face.

"I'm the quarterback," He told her. Kate jumped up and down. She imagined fifty scenarios with Sawyer winning the game in each one that day.

Wednesday afternoon was cheerleading practice. The squad was amazing. Colleen had gotten this year's uniforms and was handing them out. Kate gasped when she got hers.

It was mostly green with the words "Hanso Hazard" on the front in black. Kate wasn't one for wearing skirts, but nonetheless she loved the skirt. She couldn't wait to show Sawyer.

Thankfully she didn't have to wait long, because Sawyer had been watching all practice.

"I can't believe I didn't see you!" Kate said in amazement.

"I may have almost flunked math, but I get an A in stealth, sweetcakes," he responded.

Saturday finally rolled around, after much anticipation. Family and friends of the players and cheerleaders showed up to watch the game.

Desmond was feeling jittery. Seeing Penelope waving made him a little more nervous. He had to impress her.

Ben and Juliet had decided to go and watch. They were looking at the other team. The Dunder-Mifflin Monsters didn't look so tough. A black haired boy was tossing a football with a kid who was wearing a pair of goofy glasses. Juliet pointed this out to Ben.

"You do like my glasses though, right?" He asked in a sarcastic tone. Juliet rolled her eyes and assured him she did. Juliet burst out laughing when the black haired boy tripped attempting to pass.

"I bet you can throw better than he can," Juliet told Ben.

"What is this, 'let's make fun of Ben day'?" He asked, insulted. Juliet kissed him sarcastically on the cheek.

"I wasn't making fun of you, I told you that you could throw better," Juliet said.

"If you hadn't said it, I would have assumed I could throw better. Then you said it. Now I think that you think that I didn't know I could throw better than he could, which means you think that I think that I have no athletic ability at all," Ben breathed as soon as he had finished saying this. Juliet was amazed that he could get his thoughts out so clearly. She would have needed to use a piece of paper to make a rough draft of her exact opinions, whereas Ben was perfectly clear.

They watched the Dunder-Mifflin cheerleaders warming up. Juliet saw a frizzy red haired girl in the group of five.

"That's Pam! I went to summer camp with her!" Juliet exclaimed. She made her way over to where they were warming up.

"Juliet!" Pam yelled when she recognized her.

"You're a cheerleader?" Juliet asked. Pam had never seemed that type before.

"Just because my boyfriend's on the team," She said. A dark haired girl glared at them when Pam said this. "That's Karen. She's not too big on me going out with Jim," She informed Juliet in a hushed tone. "What time is it?" She asked.

Juliet checked her watch. "Ten forty-five," She replied.

"Fifteen minutes until game time. I'll introduce you to Jim. Who's the guy you were sitting with?" Pam asked.

"That's Ben. He's my boyfriend," She answered. "I'll go get him."

Juliet ran back to the bleachers and grabbed Ben. "Where are we going?" He asked.

"I want to introduce you to Pam," She answered.

Pam and Juliet were about to attempt to introduce their boyfriends to one another when the cheerleading captain called the squad into a huddle.

"That's Jan, she's the captain. See you after the game?" Pam asked.

"Definitely," Juliet said, pulling Ben back to their seats.

Juliet went to get snacks at the refreshment stand. By the time she got back to her seat, the game was about to start.

The thing Juliet liked about Ben was he didn't pretend to know anything about football. In fact, Juliet was pretty sure football was one of the things that Ben didn't have a folder full of information about in his mind, unlike pretty much everything else.

By halftime Hanso Hazard was winning, 14-7. The Dunder-Mifflin Monsters only had a couple good players, Pam's boyfriend Jim and a big kid called Roy.

The cheerleaders for both teams were impressive. Pam was quite good at it. Part of Pam's spirit might have come from the fact that Jim had scored Dunder-Mifflin's only touchdown.

How is it that this chapter ended up being about Ben and Juliet, who aren't football players or cheerleaders? I apologize for the team names, I couldn't think of anything better. Next chapter: The rest of the game! The little purple button allows you to see a picture of Sawyer in a football uniform.


	10. The Mall

I still don't own Lost. Sorry it took a while to update. With lacrosse starting, I'm going to have a tough time, but I'll try to update at least once every four days.

Five minutes into the second half Dunder-Mifflin fans had started to look away from the action on the field. The score was 28-7, Hanso Hazard.

The end of the game rolled around eventually. By then Ben and Juliet were severely bored. The twosome ran over to meet Pam and Jim.

The introduction was quick, as Pam and Jim were starving. Pam and Juliet decided to go to a local smoothie place, so they embarked, pulling their respective boyfriends along.

Kate ran into Sawyer's arms at the end of the game. Much kissing followed.

"We still on for the mall, Freckles?" He asked her of their plans for the day.

"You bet. Ooh, can I pick out clothes for you?" Kate asked, her voice full of excitement.

Sawyer rolled his eyes. "Of course, Pippi Longstocking."

Jack was in the car with his mom, just about to pull out of the parking lot.

"Oh, Jack, there's Kate and James. Want to ask them if they'd like to go to the mall with us?" Mrs. Shepperd asked.

Jack grumbled a response.

Mrs. Shepperd rolled down the window, as well as her eyes. "James, Kate! Would you like a ride to the mall?" Jack rolled his eyes. It was bad enough that his mom was asking them and they'd probably say yes, as well as the fact that he didn't want them seeing that he still sat in the backseat.

"That would be great, Mrs. Shepperd," Kate answered. Mrs. Shepperd unlocked the car door. "Thank you so much," Kate said to her. "Hi Jack," Kate said. Sawyer nodded at Jack, smiling.

Meanwhile, Pam and Juliet were chatting away at a table in a smoothie shop. Ben and Jim just sat there, slurping on smoothies. Pam and Juliet had tried to get them to talk to each other, but the two of them were so different it was impossible.

Kate and Sawyer thanked Mrs. Shepperd for the ride and said goodbye to Jack once they had reached the mall.

Within twenty minutes of setting foot in the mall, Kate had already picked out two pairs of jeans, five t-shirts, a belt, a hat, a pair of sneakers, and three pairs of boxers for Sawyer.

"What kind of pajamas do you want?" Kate asked him.

"You're looking at 'em," He told her, pointing at the boxers.

At that precise moment, Jack and his mom walked by. Jack was carrying a bag in which a pair of plaid pajama pants was clearly visible. Sawyer and Kate both saw this.

Charlie, Claire and Liam were hanging at Hot Topic. Charlie found a black sleeveless tee with a pink skull on it.

"You'd look good in this Claire," he said. To his surprise, Claire actually liked it.

"Charlie, that's so cute," she squealed. Ten minutes later when they walked out of Hot Topic, Claire was carrying a bag full of clothes she and Charlie had picked out. Charlie was surprised and happy Claire liked the same stuff he did.

They headed to the mall's CD store. Charlie looked at the pieces of paper with the names of bands and singers that separated the CDs.

"We need to think of a good band name," Charlie remarked.

"We need a drummer and a guitarist first," Claire pointed out.

Liam came up to them. "C'mon, Mike Dirnt. Mum wants us to meet her at the car," he said.

"One sec Liam," Charlie begged. He went over to the check-out line to pay for his two CDs: The Greatest Hits of the Kinks, and Green Day International Superhits.

Ben and Juliet walked home from the smoothie shop.

"I forgot to tell you, I'm getting braces Monday afternoon, right after school," Juliet told Ben with a hint of fear in her voice.

Ben detected her fear, and knew just what to do. "I'll come with you. To the orthodontist. It won't be awful, trust me," He comforted. Ben thought back to when he'd gotten his on. He shivered at the thought. The first few days were the worst. He'd need something to take her mind off the horrors of orthodontire. "We should get a start on the student council campaign. Elections are a week from Monday."

In case you don't know (I didn't expect anyone to) Mike Dirnt is Green Day's bassist. Reviews rock!


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